Maharashtra governemnt okays 20% grant to unaided schools in State – Free Press Journal Home / Mumbai / Maharashtra governemnt okays 20% grant to unaided schools in State

Teachers in 1,628 unaided schools to benefit from grant

Mumbai: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved in-principle 20 per cent grant to eligible permanent unaided schools. The decision will benefit 19,247 teachers from 1,628 eligible permanently unaided schools in the state. However, the opposition has criticised the decision calling it ‘meagre and unjust’.

The teachers from the permanently unaided schools had resorted to dharna agitation for the last two weeks. Nearly 50 per cent of the School Education department budget is spent on wages of teachers and non-teaching staff, the education minister said.

Commenting upon the agitation of the teachers, Tawde contended that the agitation was political. They tried to lit a bonfire of the Gujarat pattern and tried to mislead the teachers.

The decision that would help the teaching and non-teaching staff working in 2452 divisions of 1628 unaided schools to get their salaries directly from the state government covers almost 90 per cent of the unaided schools of the state, the minister said.

Meanwhile, the agitating teachers’ representatives have demanded that the government give them the copy of the Government Resolution (GR) before announcing their withdrawal of the agitation.

“We are not satisfied with this 20% grant and till a government resolution comes in this regard we cannot be sure if it will happen. But since schools have to reopen, in the interest of students we are accepting the promise,” said PrashantRedij, spokesperson of Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals’ Association.

In a statement issued here Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly RadhakrishnaVikhe-Patil termed the 20 per cent grant as meagre and unjust.